CWA/SEIU 1021 Bargaining Update
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The CWA bargaining team met again with SEIU 1021 management Friday, Jan. 25.
The employer brought five proposals to the table—all takeaways in health care and pension. (See reverse side for details.) The CWA team has said “NO” to all of them, although management has not withdrawn them and insists they need them.
The CWA team entered negotiations with 22 proposals, but at this last meeting pared that down to 10. (See reverse side for details.) The CWA team has been responsibly trying to find savings for the employers without actually intruding on management’s rights to structure its budget (no matter how obviously it needs the help). They are being very careful and so far the only savings they have identified of enough significance to move off a flat “no concessions” position is changing the Kaiser plan (and only the Kaiser plan) from a $10 co-pay per doctor visit to $15.
The CWA researcher estimates the concessions management wants to total $416,000—or about $4,000 per member—in one year. The CWA team is outraged that such a proposal has even been brought to the table. (One member of the management team showed up at the latest session wearing a “NO TAKEAWAYS” button from the Port of Oakland strike many of us worked on, and yet continued to argue that CWA needed to accept cuts. Among SEIU 1021’s numerous ills is not an irony deficiency.)
Every day we are urged by our supervisors and directors to fight for contracts with “no concessions.” And yet the approach of our employer stunningly parallels what we face in our contract campaigns every day:
An employer that consistently underestimates its revenues and overestimates its expenditures, budgeting for a fully staffed operation—something we know all too well not to be reality.
An employer that has way too many contracted out services that should be done by an expanded staff.
An employer that increases its top level managers—specifically three new staff directors and three new officers on lost time—while cutting line staff.
An employer with an $11 million reserve that doesn’t believe it should spend a small amount of it—in this case less than 5%--to alleviate the need for cuts to the staff that keeps its operation going.
We expect this kind of behavior from employers private and public, but for it to come from those who claim to be on the side of the fighting workers is disappointing to say the least.
The CWA bargaining team and CAT will be meeting to discuss where we go from here. You will be hearing from your CAT representatives soon.
This will not stand!
Employer Proposals
1) Eliminate the 5% 401(k) match
2) increased costs of health care to be paid by a change in the benefits provided, some kind of cost sharing, and/or other savings in staff cost
3) If an employee is on leave for six months or more, the employer can fill that position. If the employee returns before twelve months he/she can be placed in any vacant position in their classification. If there is no position available they can be placed on a recall list for six months. If they don’t return to work after twelve months they are laid off.
4) Reduction in the amount of donated leave days a employee out on catastrophic leave can receive from other employees from 80 to 60.
5) Deletion of the MOU’s side letters on Settlement Bonus, Vacation Cash-Out, Retiree Medical and Pilot Project of filling of Staff Openings and Voluntary Transfer Requests.
CWA proposals still on the table
1) Mileage and transportation
2) CompTime
3) Assignment out of Area
4) Hotel Accomodations
5) Out of jurisdiction
6) Education Allowance
7) Vision Plan
8) Salary increases
9) Probationary Period
10) Side Letter – Change of ee’s jurisdiction
11) Promotions
12) Reimbursement timelines
And new as of Jan. 25: Y-rating and the counter on health care (Kaiser co-pays)
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